Are environmental issues still a concern when buying commercial property?

Takeaway:
Remember that the previous owners of a property won’t be around to deal with any problems that are discovered while the buyer owns the property.

Question: Are environmental issues still a concern when buying commercial property?

John C. Koechel: Always, yes. Without speaking too specifically, a buyer always has to worry that it is inheriting any environmental problems from the seller. You almost have to take a very defensive stance that the previous owners of the property won’t be around to deal with any problems that are discovered while the buyer owns the property, and it’s going to be solely on the buyer. So, most commercial buyers start off of what’s known as a “phase one” analysis or test of the property to see if there are any, let’s say, underground storage tanks or anything else that would indicate that further testing is needed. So yes, it’s more vital, I think, for commercial buyers to be aware of the environmental potential problems in or under the property they are buying.

John C. Koechel is an attorney at John C. Koechel PLLC in Fort Worth, Texas, specializing in commercial real estate. John has been handling complex commercial real estate transactions and business matters since 2004 for clients ranging from Fortune 200 corporations to regional developers to families and individuals. John has been a fully licensed Texas attorney since 1996 and has handled a wide range of transactional and litigation matters. Full Bio